If you have a fat bike, you need the JoeBlow Fat from Topeak. There’s no two ways about it. This beast has a pump body that is 1.5 times the diameter of just about any other floor pump out there. It’s huge. Small children can hide behind it, it’s that big. Okay, maybe not that big. But if you have some massive tires like the 26 x 4.0 rubber found on so many fat bikes today, you need one. We’re including it in our fat bike winter project series, as it will make fat bike ownership that much easier. Check out the details:
Topeak’s TwinHead fits schrader, presta, and even dunlop valves, and it has a built in air release button, which makes it easy to tune your tires to the exact pressure. Throw the big lever to lock it on, and pump away. An extra long hose lets you use it even when the bike is on a repair stand.
A nice big high contrast gauge makes it easy to see your pressure at a glance. There’s a pointer on the bezel to set the pressure, so even if you normally need glasses, you can still see the needle line up with the pointer with ease. That gauge has about a 270 degree sweep, but only goes from 0-30PSI in 1 degree increments, so you can really fine-tune your pressure.
The steel barrel and composite base are made for years of service. Oversize padded handles and a hose dock round out the feature list.
Our unbiased opinions:
While the oversize handles are padded, my ideal pump would have a bar clamp, so I could use a pair of MTB bars with grips for a handle. But the JoeBlow Fat pushes so much air, it doesn’t take long to fill even a 26 x 4.0 tire. It really takes less than a dozen strokes to get around 8-12 PSI.
At 3.97 pounds, it’s not light. And we don’t care. Use it in your garage, shop, or take it with you if you drive to the trail head. It’s made to last. And if you are a fat tire fan, you’re probably no weight weenie.
Gauge accuracy can vary due to things like air temps. We couldn’t find our digital gauge to test the accuracy, but the JoeBlow Fat got us into the right range with very little effort. On the trail, you may find that you want to add or remove some air. That’s what small pumps are for. So I carry one of those in my trunk bag.
Overall height of 27.1 inches is just about right for most of us. Really tall people always complain about one thing or another. We had no complaints from our shortest tester.
We checked for the JoeBlow Fat online, and saw it priced from the low $40 range up to the mid $50 range. Then we found the JoeBlow Fat on Amazon for only $37.67, which is a savings of over $17 off their MSRP of $54.95. For a pump that will fill your fattest fat tires, plus your regular MTB tires, and your tubeless as well, you’d be hard pressed to find a better deal. topeak.com
Cost breakdown for the project bike so far:
2016 Gravity Bullseye Monster $499
Take-off bar and stem $20
Axiom Fatliner rack $60-ish
Dave‘s Mud Shovel fenders from PDW (f/r) $20/$28
Topeak JoeBlow Fat pump $55 or less
– Brian
We’d like to thank Topeak for providing their JoeBlow Fat floor pump for this review. It’s made the chore of changing fat tires much easier.